157 dead in Ethiopian Airlines crash

Ethiopian Airlines said Sunday that 157 people were killed when a passenger jet headed from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Nairobi, Kenya, crashed shortly after takeoff.

All 149 passengers and eight crew members died in the Boeing 737 crash, which occurred just before 9 a.m. local time, according to Reuters. 

{mosads}“There are no survivors onboard the flight, which carried passengers from 33 countries,” the Ethiopian state broadcaster said, the news service said.

Ethiopian Airlines officials said that 32 Kenyans, nine Ethiopians and eight Americans were among those on the aircraft, The Associated Press reported.

It is believed that some passengers were on their way to attend a United Nations environmental conference in Kenya, it added.

The jet was reportedly a new 737 MAX 8, the same model that crashed in Indonesia in October. That Lion Air flight crashed into the sea, killing 189 people.

Officials have not yet determined the cause of the Ethiopian Airlines crash, but the flight had unstable vertical speed following takeoff, according to Reuters, which cited flight tracking website Flightradar24.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office in a statement offered “deepest condolences” to families, according to the AP.

And Kenya’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta, said: “My prayers go to all the families and associates of those on board,” the news service noted.

This is the airline’s first deadly crash since 2010 and comes amid major expansions by the company.

Updated at 10:35 a.m.